Car crash claims Poly student, 3 others

Cal Poly students may look back on the summer of 2007 with memories of tragic events where too many priceless lives were taken.

For the fifth time in the past year, a Cal Poly student’s life has been taken by a car accident.

Cal Poly student Erik Satterstrom, 19, was behind the wheel of his Nissan 350Z on July 23, when he lost control of his car and killed a pedestrian couple in San Jose, before hitting a tree. Neither Satterstrom nor his passenger survived the accident.

California Highway Patrol officials said Satterstrom was driving with his friend Max Harding around 8:20 p.m. when he lost control of the car and hit physicist Paul Batra, 65, and his wife, Uma Batra, 57, as they were walking on the side of the road not far from their home.

The car’s excessive speed along with a bend in the road caused the driver to lose control, CHP officials said. The car ran into two trees, killing both the driver and passenger instantly.

Satterstrom was enrolled at Cal Poly but had chosen to take the spring quarter off. He had planned to return in the fall. He graduated from Valley Christian High School in 2006.

“Erik and I had several classes together senior year. It was really just joking around with Erik that got me through an entire year of AP Bio,” said Chris McElhatton of San Jose in an e-mail interview. “I had the funniest moments with Erik and I’ll never forget our jokes and pranks.”

When he was spending his time at home in San Jose, Satterstrom held a job at Orchard Supply Hardware.

“I was privileged to work with Erik. He was always such a nice person and I was finally starting to know him a little bit better, despite his quiet demeanor,” said Elizabeth Lanham of San Jose in an e-mail interview. “It will not be the same without him. Erik was loved and appreciated by all his coworkers.”

Max Harding, on the other hand, attended Leland High School in San Jose where he earned the reputation as “the smiley kid.”

“Max always had a huge smile on his face,” said childhood friend Peter Anderson in an e-mail interview. “He was always happy and was the sweetest kid ever. I have never seen him angry.”

The overwhelming grief for both Satterstrom and Harding can be witnessed firsthand on their memorial facebook pages.

“I just recently went to visit the Harding family. They are struggling as one would expect, but they have had a lot of friends and family over to help them out,” Anderson said. “They appreciate all the love and support they are receiving.”

Harding was on the swim team when he was in elementary school and joined the lacrosse team when he was in high school. Yet, Harding’s time was best spent at home.

“Max was always somewhat of a handyman. He always worked at home with his dad and did all kinds of work around,” Anderson said.

Harding’s funeral was held Tuesday, July 31 at 6 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Almaden.

According to the National Safety Council, motor vehicle deaths in September 2006 totaled 3,870 – down 2 percent from the September 2005 total of 3,960.

California alone had 2,859 car accidents that resulted in deaths in a nine-month period. Cal Poly has seen five of those motor accidents resulting in death just within the past year.

Another tragedy occurred on June 20 along U.S. Highway 101 in Paso Robles. Anna Rose Luskin, 20, died two days later from injuries.

In North Dakota on March 25, 19-year-old Brittany Nicole Carroll died in a car accident only a week after leaving Cal Poly.

Edgar Richard Viernes, 20, died on Oct. 12, 2006 in a car accident in San Luis Obispo.

On Aug. 9, 2006, former Cal Poly golfer Justin McCutcheon, 19, died in Massachusetts after a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer.

Motor vehicle deaths aren’t even the most surprising part. Beyond those 3,870 lives lost there were an added 1.74 million disabling injuries in 2006, and approximately twice as many minor injuries.

The cost of motor vehicle collisions in 2006 through September totaled nearly $174 billion. The costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, employer costs and vehicle damage.

So what can be done to help prevent any further disasters? The question concerns many students who often leave on weekends and vacation breaks and head out on long drives back to their hometowns.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says it is important to remind motorists that in order to ensure the safety of both drivers and passengers, people must buckle up, not drink and drive and simply drive safely through work zones.

To prepare for long drives, motorists should ensure that their vehicles are fit to endure long trips. Most importantly, drivers should check fluids, tires, lights, wipers and brakes as well. Most importantly, drivers should avoid risky behavior such as speeding, aggressive driving, and driving under the influence. Driving while fatigued is dangerous and motorists should stop every three hours and rotate driving responsibilities.